Bafana strongman Sithole calls for the team to get back to basics

Bafana Bafana midfield strongman Sphephelo Sithole says the team must go back to basics to remedy the unusual inconsistencies they experienced in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

South Africa progressed with edgy 2-1 wins against Angola and Zimbabwe and a 1-0 defeat amid much VAR drama against Egypt to the last 16, where they meet powerhouse Cameroon at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday (8pm in Morocco, 9pm SA time).

Sithole admitted the South Africans have been far from their best in Morocco.

After Monday’s nervy final Group B win over Zimbabwe that saw Bafana end second behind Egypt, coach Hugo Broos raised concerns his team have not played well together and some players have not been at their best at the tournament.

“It was not the start I expected,” Sithole admitted at Bafana’s posh hotel in Marrakesh, where they have chosen to remain based for their preparations for the clash against Cameroon.

Sithole was replaced at halftime in the last group match after he struggled to cope with the quick Zimbabweans.

“I know what I need to do and where I need to improve. For the team as well, we haven’t shown the form we have been in for the past two to three years.

“We have spoken about it among ourselves as the group and have agreed we need to get back to basics to get back to where we were.”

Bafana were highly impressive with devastating attacking football in their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Rwanda and the friendly against Zambia in September to November.

“There are some things we have stopped doing. We know if we lose against Cameroon, we are going home and we need to improve on many aspects of our game against them.

“We are playing in patches and we are a team that is used to dominating for the whole 90 minutes. That has not happened in the past three games at Afcon but we want to improve because we are capable of doing it.

Among Bafana’s strengths is ball possession, and Sithole wants to see them apply that aspect better.

“It is true we are used to keeping the ball, but sometimes we misplace passes cheaply, and that is something that usually doesn’t happen with this team. We really need to improve on that so our game is complete.

“Other key things we need to improve on are winning duels on the ground and in the air and to make our team play [with inter-passing] better. Usually, our play starts from the midfield, and if that area is not doing well, a lot of things are negatively affected and that makes the team unstable.

“We must do basic things well and things will work out better for us.”

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